Scotland fans invade Wembley to celebrate after their 2-1 victory in 1977.

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JOE JORDAN’S memory bank is stashed with deposit boxes full of medals, caps and cup triumphs.

The legendary Scotland centre forward, our only player to have scored in three successive World Cup finals, occasionally brings them out for an airing but there is one recollection that never fails to bring a smile to his craggy features.

It came in the aftermath of Scotland’s famous 1977 victory over England at Wembley, a result that brought the house down as well as the crossbar as thousands of visiting fans celebrated on the pitch.

But it was the memory of the fans bursting into the away dressing room to begin a party that day that remains etched in the mind of big Joe, now first-team coach at Queens Park Rangers.

And in a documentary on the oldest rivalry in international football – the Scotland-England clash that dates back to 1872 – being screened on January 1, Jordan recalls that Ally MacLeod’s men were beaten to the dressing room by some Tartan Army footsoldiers... who were in the team bath.

Jordan said: “There were about six guys with kilts on in the bath. How they got in I’ll never know. That was something I’d never experienced before. But there you go, they enjoyed it. And got a free wash!”

That 2-1 win has gone into the fixture’s folklore thanks to the Scotland fans and Denis Law, who watched the game, recalls the madness of it all with obvious glee.

Law, voted Scotland’s Greatest Ever Player, famously went to play golf on the day England won the World Cup in 1966 and loved nothing more than beating the Auld Enemy.

The former striker was gobsmacked by the celebrations in 1977. In fact, the sight of some fans trying to get the cracked crossbars on to the London Underground that day was just as bizarre as the scenes Jordan witnessed in the dressing room.

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Law said: “It is difficult to believe these things but I met these guys with the crossbar. They were on the platform at the station and I asked them, ‘Where are you going with that?’ We’re going to catch the tube to London,’ was the reply. They wanted to take it on to the Underground. I couldn’t believe it.”

There are two sides to any rivalry, however, and the documentary features input from one of the most famous England players of his time. Terry Butcher went on to be Scotland’s assistant boss under George Burley but the ex-Rangers captain was a proud Englishman and wasn’t afraid to nail his colours to the mast at Ibrox.

Butcher said: “I used to wear an England top with the Three Lions on for training at Rangers. I was fiercely proud wearing that, especially with Davie Cooper, Ally McCoist, and Ian Durrant around.

Joe Jordan and Kenny Dalglish helped make the Tartan Army go wild at the final whistle of this 2-1 victory in 1977

“We used to have England v Scotland on a Friday and it was war. When you look back you wonder how we didn’t get more injuries. It was so competitive as everyone wanted to beat the English.”

There was one surprising exception, though. Butcher revealed that one Scotland legend was happy to play with the English boys in those no-holds-barred training clashes.

He added: “Funnily enough, Graeme Souness used to play for the English when he was fit to play. What about that!”

But Butcher insisted the ferocity of feeling generated by the Scotland-England match even shocked hardened pros and he recalls the welcome his side got from one fan as their team bus made its way to Hampden for a match in the 1980s. He said: “We used to see how many drunks we could spot from the bus as we travelled to the game.

“On one occasion, we stopped at the traffic lights with the police escort. This drunken Scottish guy, with his kilt and a can of beer, came up and actually headbutted the coach. Unbelievable. You’d only get that at an England v Scotland game.”

●Produced by purpleTV, directed by Margot McCuaig and presented by Alex O’Henley, the programme will be broadcast on BBC ALBA on Thursday, January 1 at 9pm. It will be repeated on Friday, January 2 at 11pm and will be available on BBC iPlayer.

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